


Alien Cultures Sure Are Different; But Not By Much

by Puregold



Category: OK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes
Genre: Angst, Angst and Humor, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, Canon-Typical Violence, Cussing, Emotional Baggage, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Emotionally Repressed, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Internalized Transphobia, Not necessarily Enid/Rad but you can read it that way if you want, There's not too much cussing but listen thats just..... How I Am., They fight Darrell at one point, This is before K.O. moved to the neighborhood an started working at the plaza, Trans Character, Trans Male Character, Transphobia, angsty past, light humor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-10
Updated: 2017-12-10
Packaged: 2019-02-12 11:13:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,710
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12957990
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Puregold/pseuds/Puregold
Summary: Thoughts and anxiety race through my head as I wait for Enid. What if she finds my binder and questions me about it? What if she exposes me and we have to ditch planets again? Oh, God. I don't wanna have to make my mom and dad uproot their entire lives again just for me. Will I have to just... Kill her? No, that's stupid. That's the dumbest thought I've ever had. Maybe I can just... Convince her not to say anything! Bribe her, maybe?She comes out of the bathroom, and I feel my anxiety spike hard enough for me to hear my own heartbeat when I see her holding my binder with a confused look on her face.





	Alien Cultures Sure Are Different; But Not By Much

**Author's Note:**

> I am a trans man and headcanon Rad as a trans man who put on his big ole macho act due to dysphoria an internalized transphobia....... I just....... I'm lov him so much......

I wipe a drop of sweat from my brow after lifting yet another crate to restock the back, and the day's not even half over. Jeez, I'm wheezing. I didn't think I was that weak. As I feel the pain rise in my chest with every breath, I remember that forum I read a while back talking about how you shouldn't do heavy work-outs while wearing a binder. I knit my brow and bite my lip as I weigh the pros and cons of taking it off. Pros, I won't accidentally break a rib or squeeze my lungs. Cons, while my... Pecks aren't _noticeably_ visible, people could still tell if they looked. I also run the risk of having a dysphoria-induced breakdown. I groan, surveying the back room and the remaining boxes before making up my mind. I'll just take it off, leave it in the "employee's only" bathroom, and once I'm done stocking I can just put it back on. No sweat.

Or so I thought, because the second I'm done re-stocking, the alarm for one of Boxmore's attacks goes off, blaring through the room. _Do I have time to dash to the break room and put on my binder?_ I hear a loud crash come from outside the front of the store. _Nope._ I internally pray for it to just be Jethro, although knowing with my luck of course it's not going to be that easy.

I hurriedly join Enid out front, standing by her side as Darrell positions some mega-large laser blaster directly at the store.

"Out of the way, twerps!" He yells, before charging up a blast.

Enid and I both leap aside, her to the right, me to the left, and I notice every single slight _bounce_ my upper-body makes. We both share a look, and she makes several gestures indicating a coordinated attack to take out the blaster before he can take out the store. At this point, it's like we have our own made-up language exclusively for battle.

We both break into a run, sprinting towards Darrel's outstretched arm. It's not even been 5 seconds into battle, and yet I'm already incredibly self-conscious and aware of my every movement and how it will impact my upper body. Enid then vaults up into the air, charging up a fiery kick as I reel back my fist. Our attacks then collide, my punch and her kick converging onto Darrell's blaster and shattering it to pieces before it has time to fire.

"Aww, man!" He complains. "That was expensive!"

"Tell it to your daddy back at Boxmore!" Quips Enid, before striking Darrell with a few swift hits to the face.

He stumbles backwards, clearing some distance between us before laughing. "No matter. I still have _these!_ " He says, enlarging both hands to become massive fists.

He then goes to punch Enid, and I throw a garbage can with my levitation powers at him to counteract the blow.

He shouts, and I follow up with a running start to punch him in the gut. As I hit him, he hits me _directly in the chest_ with his fist, shoving me back a few inches and causing pain and panic to rise in me.

I am so shocked and dazed, freaking out that there might be even a _slight possibility_ that he felt a lump where it should be _flat_ , that I don't even notice Enid finish him off with a few power kicks and send him flying back to Boxmore.

"Uhhh... Earth to Rad?" She asks. "You there?"

"What?" I ask, blinking a few times. "Yeah. W-why?"

"You just seemed kinda distracted during battle. Something on your mind?" She asks, and I suddenly become incredibly self-aware, crossing my arms high up over my upper body in a way that I hope seems nonchalant.

"Yeah. I mean, no. No. Just, uhh..." I think for a second, before replying. "Thinkin' about the big game that's on tonight!"

"What big game?" She asks quizzically, raising an eyebrow at me.

"Football." I blurt out. "The Shockodiles vs the uh... Burnhounds."

"Oh, really? There's a game with them tonight? I love the Burnhounds!" She replies with a grin. "Maybe we could catch that game together after work."

"Oh, uh, no..." I reply awkwardly through my lie. "I'm gonna be, like. Really tired. Probably. Gettin' all those sweet gains in is exhausting, after all!" I boast, trying to cover up my bullshit with false ego.

She laughs, rolling her eyes. "Whatever, you clown. I gotta go use the bathroom. Can you start cleaning while I go?"

"Sure thing." I reply, and I start to watch her leave before remembering. "Uhh, wait! Actually, I gotta use it."

"Psh. I called it first, dude!" She calls back, already making her way through the door.

I follow after her, catching up and attempting to block her path. "Yeah, well, I gotta go first!"

"Rad, you're being ridiculous! Just let me use the bathroom already!"

"No way!"

"Yes way!"

And soon enough it was a race to the bathroom, us barreling over costumers and zig-zagging through the aisles in an attempt to beat the other. She gets open the door to the break room first, but I'm not far behind, squeezing my way in the door frame. It's not wide enough to fit both of us, so now customers just watch in horror as the two of us struggle through, pushing at each other.

"Back off, Rad!"

"Never!"

She huffs, before pulling her leg back and unleashing a powerful kick to my gut, pushing me away from the door and buying her time to get through and dash to the bathroom.

"NO!" I shout dramatically, pulling myself back on my feet and running in the employee break room, shutting the door behind me.

Thoughts and anxiety race through my head as I wait for Enid. What if she finds my binder and questions me about it? What if she exposes me and we have to ditch planets again? Oh, God. I don't wanna have to make my mom and dad uproot their entire lives again just for me. Will I have to just... Kill her? No, that's stupid. That's the dumbest thought I've ever had. Maybe I can just... Convince her not to say anything! Bribe her, maybe? 

She comes out of the bathroom, and I feel my anxiety spike hard enough for me to hear my own heartbeat when I see her holding my binder with a confused look on her face. "Rad, what's thi- Hey!" She shouts as I instinctively snatch my binder from her hands.

"Gimme that!"

"Rad, I was just asking what it was. There's no need to get so defensive. Seriously, what's with you?"

"Nothing's with me! Just leave me alone!" I shout, before hurrying into the now open bathroom and slamming the door behind me. A few minutes pass of just me, hiding out and away from Enid. God, what the hell am I doing? 

I hear her voice through the door. "Rad, it's okay. You know we're buddies and you can tell me if somethings going on."

I sigh, just turning away and trying to ignore her and put my binder on though its messily-done and clumsy. I then hesitantly crack the door open, peering around the corner, when I deem the coast is clear before walking out.

"Rad." Says Enid, appearing in a puff of ninja-smoke in front of me as I scream.

"Rad, seriously, what's going- Holy shit, are you crying?"

"What? No." I reply, before lifting a hand and wiping at my face. Oh, fuck. I _am_ crying. I raise a hand up to try and wipe away the rest of the tears, my other arm crossing against my chest defensively.

"Rad, what's wrong? It's okay to cry in front of me. I'm not gonna give you shit for it." She says, her voice tinged with concern as she walks towards me, closing the distance between us.

The moment she tells me that it's okay to cry, I fucking lose it. I try my best to keep my awkward, choked sobs hidden and contained behind my hands, shamefully covering my face.

Enid frowns, stepping up on her toes to give me a hug and pat my back affectionately. "Aww. Let it all out, big guy."

"I'm not a real guy." I blurt out, partly from the overwhelming emotional release, and partly out of trust for her. "Planet X fuckin sucks with gender stuff. I just- I never wanted to be a girl an I-" A hiccup escapes past my lips, and yet I just keep blubbering on. " _hhhh_ ated it. And we didn't even- It wasn't even me or my families choice to- to leave." Enid offers me a tissue, to which I gratefully accept. I blow my nose and the two of us move to sit on the couch.

"They banished us 'cause I didn't- didn't wanna be a girl. And we went here but it still- I don't want it to happen again." After getting all that off my chest, I just sob for a few minutes as Enid comforts me.

"Hey, I- I'm sorry for freaking you out like that. I didn't mean to out you and... I promise I'm not gonna go around telling people you're transgender. It's okay. Your secrets safe with me."

I let out a sigh of relief, and she continues. "Y'know, you can talk to me about this stuff whenever. It's not healthy to bottle it all up like that. You're super safe here dude, promise."

"I know. Or, like, I knew that it was... Better for me here than on my home planet. But still. I've always been... Terrified. About that kind of thing." I respond.

"I get it. What you went through was super shitty and it's totally okay for you to feel that way. Again, I'm really sorry." She says, and at this point I can feel the guilty vibes coming off her.

I laugh lightheartedly. "It's okay. I lied about there being a Shockodiles vs Burnhounds game tonight, anyway."

"Aww, you dick!" She replies, punching my shoulder.

I laugh and shove her back, feeling like an incredibly heavy weight was suddenly lifted off my shoulders.

**Author's Note:**

> Didja catch that paranatural reference cuz I was trynna make up fake super-hero-sounding football teams???? Points if you did lol.
> 
> Platonic, comforting hugs are SO fucking valid.
> 
> Also I made myself cry writing this cuz Rad got too damn Relatable.


End file.
